Mortimer Benjamin “Mort” Zuckerman was born on the 4th June 1937, in Montreal, Quebec Canada, and is a businessman and media proprietor best known to the world as the co-founder and executive chairman of the real estate investment trust Boston Properties. Also, he is the owner of the newspapers New York Daily News, and USNews & World Report.
Have you ever wondered how rich Mortimer Zuckerman is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources it has been estimated that Zuckerman’s net worth is as high as $2.5 billion, earned through his successful career as a businessman, which began in 1962. .
Mortimer Zuckerman Net Worth $2.5 Billion
Mortimer is of Jewish ancestry; his grandfather was an orthodox rabbi. His father, Abraham, and mother, Esther, owned a tobacco and candy store. At the age of 16, Mortimer enrolled at McGill University, from which he earned a BA degree in 1957, and four years later, received his BCL degree. After that, he enrolled at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he obtained an MBA degree. He continued at Harvard Law School, gaining an LLM degree in 1962, after which Mortimer stayed at Harvard working as an associate professor for almost a decade, while also holding a professor’s position at Yale University.
He then decided to leave teaching, and joined Cabot, Cabot & Forbes real estate firm, working there for the next seven years, and reaching the position of senior vice president, while also working as chief financial officer.
However, his ambitions outgrew the firm, and in 1970 he started his own company, Boston Properties, with the help of Edward H. Linde. The company grew quickly, and according to sources, yearly revenue of the firm now amounts to $2.5 billion.
After the success of his real estate firm, Mortimer ventured into other business areas, and bought The Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1980. He was chairman of the magazine until 1999, when he sold it to David G. Bradley for $12 million, which only increased his net worth. He also owned the Fast Company, which he sold in 2000 for $365 million, further increasing his wealth.
To speak of his other accomplishments, back in 1983 he bought US News & World Report, while in 1993 he expanded his influence as he bought another media giant, the New York Daily News. He used his media presence to have an influence on politics, publishing numerous articles, while he also made donations to several campaigns, mostly to democratic candidates.
Regarding his personal life, Mortimer became a US citizen in 1877. He is married to Sonja Zuckerman, and was previously married to Marla Prather from 1996 until 2001. He has two daughters; however, it isn’t discovered whether children are result of his marriages or extra-marital relationships.
Mortimer is also a well-known philanthropist; he donated $200 million for opening the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia.
Mortimer holds several honorary degrees, including from Colby College, and received the Commandeur De L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France, among other prestigious honors.
Furthermore, thanks to his successful career, Mortimer sits on the board of numerous organizations, such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Aspen Institute, New York University, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and is a president of the board of trustees of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
